Centuries-old sweet tradition turns sour in Egypt
Dealers are reporting unusually sluggish sales for festive candy as austerity bites
The Milad Al Nabi, or the birthday of the Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) is just round the corner. Traditionally, the annual occasion features high on Egyptians’ calendar.
Egyptians are celebrating the event with speciality sweets, a tradition believed to have been started by the Fatimides who ruled the country in the 10th century.
In the lead-up to the centuries-old tradition, patisseries across Egypt display a wide assortment of mouth-watering sweets. They combine a mixture of starch, sugar, honey and nuts, including hazelnuts, almonds and pistachios. Turkish delight is also a popular treat for the occasion, which this year falls on November 20 in Egypt.
However. dealers are reporting unusually sluggish sales.
“Compared to last year, prices of the Milad sweets have only risen by around 5 per cent,” said Mahrous Abdul Wahed, an employee at a famous patisserie in central Cairo. “The rise comes as a result of recent increases in prices of electricity, water and petrol,” he told Gulf News.
“But as you can see, the number of customers is still very low. We hope the demand will rise in the coming days. This is an occasion which Egyptians of different classes do not miss to celebrate,” he added.
According to Abdul Wahed, boxes of the seasonal sweets this year sell for prices ranging from 200 Egyptian pounds (Dh41.60) up to 900 pounds, depending on size and contents.
On the occasion, families traditionally buy the festive sweets to present to their married daughters in a gesture meant to show they still care about them. Men offer sweet gifts to their fiancées along with colourfully dressed dolls on the occasion. Until recent years, these dolls were made of sugar, but due to hygienic reasons, plastic dolls have replaced them.
Subsidy cuts
The Milad sweets are also popular with children and youngsters, who insist on munching on them, especially those rich in nuts. In 2016, Egypt floated its local pound and gradually cut state subsidies on energy as part of painful austerity measures that secured the country a badly needed IMF loan of $12 billion over three years.
Egyptians have since experienced a spate of hikes in prices of different goods and services.
“Like everything else, prices of the Milad sweets have shot up,” said Mahmoud, the father of the three, estimating the hike of about 30 per cent against last year. “In many stores, sweets sell for at least 100 pounds per kilo. This is unaffordable for many people, who need the money for other life essentials.”
Mahmoud noted that the pricetags are lower in backstreet sweets shops, but their goodies are low-quality.
In an attempt to shore up sales, several confectioners have offered small candy boxes for relatively low prices especially in working-class areas.